Consumer oral care whitening products such as tooth-whitening strips are designed to improve the overall appearance of teeth. The tooth-whitening strips typically include a backing layer (such as a polymeric material) in combination with a whitening composition (such as those containing peroxide). Such products are designed to be applied to the tooth surface for a period of time to reduce surface stains on the tooth enamel and thereby reduce the appearance of such stains. Multiple products are on the market and are variable in their efficacy due to such factors as the level of peroxide in the composition, the size of the strip, the recommended wearing time, the recommended frequency of wear, the number of strips provided in a given package, and the like.
Because of the varying factors from one product to the next, consumers have a difficult time selecting a particular packaged product to meet their individual tooth-whitening needs. For instance, a consumer that desires a low level of whitening, such as a consumer that has had professional whitening in the past or a more comprehensive at-home treatment, may be looking for a tooth-whitening strip packaged product that will provide simply a “touch-up”. Such a desire for a “touch-up” may result from frequent drinking of beverages such as coffee, that have slightly stained the tooth surface. On the other hand, for instance, a consumer that is using a whitening product for the very first time, may want to have a more intensive whitening treatment.
Further complicated the consumer selection of the appropriate tooth-whitening strip product is that a particular level of whitening efficacy could be reached in a variety of ways such as by varying such factors as the level of peroxide in the composition, the size of the strip, the recommended wearing time, the recommended frequency of wear, the number of strips provided in a given package, and the like. For instance, a product that contains a higher level of peroxide that is sold with instructions to use for a shorter period of time might provide the same level of eventual whitening efficacy as a product with a lower level of peroxide that is sold with instructions to use more frequently and/or for longer periods of time per wear. At the same time, a person with, for instance, sensitive gum tissues may prefer to select a longer period of time with a lower level of peroxide to reach their desirable benefit.
Although providing a variety of tooth-whitening strip designs to consumers may meet a consumer need, a consumer given an overwhelming range of options may select the wrong product (i.e., a product other than that intended) or a product which may not be optimum (i.e., wrong number of strips, wrong whitening efficacy, too long of wear time). Either could lead to a less than ideal user experience.
Thus, there remains a need for tooth-whitening strip articles and arrays of tooth-whitening strip articles, that make it easier for a consumer to select a design from a variety of configurations that matches a particular user's needs.